Residential Architect Design Awards

The Lacey, Washington, D.C.

multifamily / merit

The Lacey sits on the former parking lot of the Florida Avenue Grill, a soul-food restaurant that has survived race riots, neighborhood decline, and more recently a rebirth. To honor that legacy, the owner asked for something other than the brick-and-mortar tenant buildings of the past. “He wanted this to be a forward-looking landmark, something that engages the street,” says Ali R. Honarkar of Division1 Architects.

It looks more like a vibrant community center than a condo building, thanks to the street-level duplexes whose glassy façades open to yards and stoops, like the surrounding row houses. Above, balconies are scattered, not stacked, and a showpiece fire escape leads to a communal rooftop terrace. A judge praised the Lacey’s transparency and industrial elegance, noting that “it integrates nicely with the neighborhood patterns.”